True of Blood
"I have a television so I know what a family is supposed to look like but mine is nothing like that. To begin with, both my parents are dead. Not the kind of dead where you bury them in the ground, say some nice words, cry a lot and then never see them again. Nope, when they died they refused to ‘go into the light’ or whatever it is you’re supposed to do when you die. Instead, they came back home. As ghosts. Have you ever been sent to your room by a parent who has no corporeal form? I have and it sucks..."
Xandra Illuminata Smith has lived for the last three years with ghosts as parents but her life gets even stranger after her seventeenth birthday when she finds out that her mother is actually a Witch in hiding and her biological father, whom she knew nothing about, is a Fairy and King of the Fae realm.
Xandra is the first Witch Fairy to be born in thousands of years for very good reason. No one should be able to control that much magic and Xandra was never meant to be born at all but her mother has manged to keep her hidden away until now.
The Witches want her dead and the Fairies want her blood, for only her blood will reopen the gateway to the Fae realm and allow them back into this realm to take revenge on humans and Witches alike for having banished them hundreds of years ago.
Xandra has very little time to learn how to use her powerful Witch and Fairy magic that has been bound since her birth while running from the Fairies who managed to jump realms and want to take her blood to set the others free. She needs someone to teach her and her parents enlist the help of one powerful Fairy who claims to want to keep the realms closed to each other. He will help keep her safe and alive as she learns, at least that's what he says.
Xandra is the first Witch Fairy to be born in thousands of years for very good reason. No one should be able to control that much magic and Xandra was never meant to be born at all but her mother has manged to keep her hidden away until now.
The Witches want her dead and the Fairies want her blood, for only her blood will reopen the gateway to the Fae realm and allow them back into this realm to take revenge on humans and Witches alike for having banished them hundreds of years ago.
Xandra has very little time to learn how to use her powerful Witch and Fairy magic that has been bound since her birth while running from the Fairies who managed to jump realms and want to take her blood to set the others free. She needs someone to teach her and her parents enlist the help of one powerful Fairy who claims to want to keep the realms closed to each other. He will help keep her safe and alive as she learns, at least that's what he says.
I finished it quickly and went onto the next book, Blood Prophecy and then onto the third book Blood Lines, but I'll talk about those later. :)
I think this is one of the better young adult paranormal romances on the market. It is light-hearted even though it deals with life's harsher realities. The book ended well, not leaving the reader hanging with unfinished business, but leaving possibilities for sequels. I found the female and male protagonists engaging. There is romance, but the author does not rely on steamy sex scenes, which is appropriate for "young adult" genres. I would definitely feel comfortable about younger kids reading this, and I also enjoyed reading it.
A very fun book to read and I highly recommend it.
Blood Prophecy
The Fairy mercenaries may be back in their own realm, but the Witches still want Xandra dead.
Fearing an ancient prophecy, the Witches are determined to keep Xandra from destroying the world. Still new to her magical powers, she must learn to use her Witch magic in order to protect herself and those she loves. Now, if only she can get her magic to cooperate.
Once again, Xandra is tasked with determining who is friend and who is foe as she faces this new threat. Not to mention digging around in the family skeleton closet to find out what else she's never been told. In the end, will she be powerful enough to take on the eight most powerful Witches in the world?
Fearing an ancient prophecy, the Witches are determined to keep Xandra from destroying the world. Still new to her magical powers, she must learn to use her Witch magic in order to protect herself and those she loves. Now, if only she can get her magic to cooperate.
Once again, Xandra is tasked with determining who is friend and who is foe as she faces this new threat. Not to mention digging around in the family skeleton closet to find out what else she's never been told. In the end, will she be powerful enough to take on the eight most powerful Witches in the world?
top reasons to read this book
1. fast paced action - no over analyzations of scenes here.
2. magic mythos - always love it when magic is explained. also the introduction of a couple of new evil doers abilities. way cool
3. the bad guys were worthy advesaries - much improved over the last book. there were at least 6 bad guys in this one - each with a different ability
4. the romance sub plot is still sweet and believable.
5. very well edited except for one word - that word will make you laugh when you read it - it is supposed to be the word peer - oops on that one
6. a lot of humor and sarastic colloquilisms - very fun book to read. it went very quickly
top criticisms for this book
1. i never really felt that she was in any danger - making this a lightweight read
2. Xandras lacked some emotional growth for me - as does her relationship. but this is keeping with the light read concept
3. should read book 1 first
4. wished there was more kallan and he had more responsibility/power
1. fast paced action - no over analyzations of scenes here.
2. magic mythos - always love it when magic is explained. also the introduction of a couple of new evil doers abilities. way cool
3. the bad guys were worthy advesaries - much improved over the last book. there were at least 6 bad guys in this one - each with a different ability
4. the romance sub plot is still sweet and believable.
5. very well edited except for one word - that word will make you laugh when you read it - it is supposed to be the word peer - oops on that one
6. a lot of humor and sarastic colloquilisms - very fun book to read. it went very quickly
top criticisms for this book
1. i never really felt that she was in any danger - making this a lightweight read
2. Xandras lacked some emotional growth for me - as does her relationship. but this is keeping with the light read concept
3. should read book 1 first
4. wished there was more kallan and he had more responsibility/power
Blood Lines
Given an impossible task by the Angels, Xandra takes the first step in completing it when she travels to the Fae realm to protect the one man she would like to kill herself.
Along the way, she discovers that Kallen has been keeping yet another secret from her. One that could tear them apart forever. Will she stay with him, or will she fall into the arms of another?
Along the way, she discovers that Kallen has been keeping yet another secret from her. One that could tear them apart forever. Will she stay with him, or will she fall into the arms of another?
I have to admit, I am a little bit in love with this series. When I read the first book I bought it because it was $0.99 and I didn't have anything else to read at the time. Honestly, I groaned when I realized the book was written in the first person, though that is a personal preference. There are a few grammatical and spelling errors within the book but there aren't many and for the reasonable price of the book and great story, they're not worth a downgrade in rating.
*SPOILER ALERT*
I started this series with very low expectations, especially considering it is a teenage paranormal. I fully expected it to be more like P.C. Cast House of Night series. The main character, Xandra, has been home schooled by her ghostly parents, one of which was a doctor. The author has written Xandra to speak as educated young lady and to actively use her brain. She is mature and charming and I appreciate that. However, she makes youthful mistakes and is not written in a way that is too adult for 17 years old.
I was really happy to see at the end of this book, Xandra was "left hand fasted." Which meant she and Kellan had made a two year commitment to each other without jumping into full marriage at such a young age. I also like that the series isn't filled with graphic sex scenes and Xandra wasn't pushing the lines of how far you can take it without actually doing the deed. I also enjoy that Xandra has not fully mastered her powers and struggles in certain areas. It is very nice to see her develop and grow. I find it tedious that in a lot of books, the main character gets new powers and within a couple of chapters has them mastered perfectly.
The moral message of the book appeals to me. Xandra is not a mean spirited girl and is also not a perfect one. She owns her flaws, for the most part, has a few snarky thoughts and comments, but is never mean and hateful just to be so. She stands up for what she believes in while being tolerant of others and despite having moments of stubbornness, she is willing to reconsider opinions she has already formed and gives people the opportunity to redeem themself. A great example of that was with her father. She was (understandably) completely disenchanted with her biological father and as time passed and they were forced into spending time together, he reconsidered his actions and is taking steps to become a positive part of her life. Xandra hasn't spent the book being unreasonably hateful, nor has she completely shut down the possibility of having a relationship with him.
I think it is good she is not off killing those who have wronged her in the name of "justice." She works to find solutions that, even though not always easy, are moral and somehow more real (most of us don't go around killing our enemies, either).
The supporting characters have depth and an individuality that lacks in a lot of other books. None of them are confined to their personality type so much that they never step out of that mindset. The shy one is shy without being reclusive, the flirty one is flirty until it becomes a problem, then he stops and is remorseful for acting inappropriately. Finally, even the "bad guys" aren't all pure evil.
Overall, I would say Bonnie Lamer has spun a wonderful story and the series is progressing quite well. Her story telling is improving through the series and I have found the more I read the series, the more I want to. I read books two and three within 24 hours. I am anxiously awaiting the fourth installment and will purchase it as soon as it becomes available.
*SPOILER ALERT*
I started this series with very low expectations, especially considering it is a teenage paranormal. I fully expected it to be more like P.C. Cast House of Night series. The main character, Xandra, has been home schooled by her ghostly parents, one of which was a doctor. The author has written Xandra to speak as educated young lady and to actively use her brain. She is mature and charming and I appreciate that. However, she makes youthful mistakes and is not written in a way that is too adult for 17 years old.
I was really happy to see at the end of this book, Xandra was "left hand fasted." Which meant she and Kellan had made a two year commitment to each other without jumping into full marriage at such a young age. I also like that the series isn't filled with graphic sex scenes and Xandra wasn't pushing the lines of how far you can take it without actually doing the deed. I also enjoy that Xandra has not fully mastered her powers and struggles in certain areas. It is very nice to see her develop and grow. I find it tedious that in a lot of books, the main character gets new powers and within a couple of chapters has them mastered perfectly.
The moral message of the book appeals to me. Xandra is not a mean spirited girl and is also not a perfect one. She owns her flaws, for the most part, has a few snarky thoughts and comments, but is never mean and hateful just to be so. She stands up for what she believes in while being tolerant of others and despite having moments of stubbornness, she is willing to reconsider opinions she has already formed and gives people the opportunity to redeem themself. A great example of that was with her father. She was (understandably) completely disenchanted with her biological father and as time passed and they were forced into spending time together, he reconsidered his actions and is taking steps to become a positive part of her life. Xandra hasn't spent the book being unreasonably hateful, nor has she completely shut down the possibility of having a relationship with him.
I think it is good she is not off killing those who have wronged her in the name of "justice." She works to find solutions that, even though not always easy, are moral and somehow more real (most of us don't go around killing our enemies, either).
The supporting characters have depth and an individuality that lacks in a lot of other books. None of them are confined to their personality type so much that they never step out of that mindset. The shy one is shy without being reclusive, the flirty one is flirty until it becomes a problem, then he stops and is remorseful for acting inappropriately. Finally, even the "bad guys" aren't all pure evil.
Overall, I would say Bonnie Lamer has spun a wonderful story and the series is progressing quite well. Her story telling is improving through the series and I have found the more I read the series, the more I want to. I read books two and three within 24 hours. I am anxiously awaiting the fourth installment and will purchase it as soon as it becomes available.
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